Who is Anthony Dibella? NY man who killed his sister because he thought she was a witch gets 18 years to life in prison
LYME, CONNECTICUT: A New York man was recently sentenced to spend 18 years to life in prison for murdering his sister.
Anthony Dibella, 53, believed that his sister, Wanda Paoli, 67, was a witch and justified the heinous act with his own supernatural faith.
Dibella was charged with one count of murder in the second degree and two counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree over the gruesome slaying of his sister Paoli in April 2022.
Although the defendant initially pleaded not guilty to all three counts, he was later found guilty of the lone murder charge in July.
How was Paoli killed?
The victim was reportedly stabbed in the head, neck, and face with the blade of a bayonet and an awl, which is a small tool often used for leather working or to put notches in wood.
Dibella, initially admitted his crimes to several authorities and his brother.
“I was done with her witchcraft,” Dibella told New York State Police troopers after they arrived at the residence in Lyme, a small town southeast of the Canadian border.
The convicted murderer, his brother and his victim sister lived in the house on Failing Shores Lane with their 89-year-old mother at the time of the crime. According to the authorities, the mother was left unharmed.
Anthony Dibella himself made the 911 call
“Wanda Paoli is being killed, she is a witch, killed with a knife and an awl, and is currently on the porch,” he told Jefferson County 911 dispatchers on April 28, 2022.
Empire State police arrived at the scene just before 11.30 am. Paoli was found by first responders on the back porch of the house suffering from multiple stab wounds.
Authorities tried to save her life, but it was too late by then. A forensic team arrived at around 3 pm to secure evidence at the scene.
“Troopers arrived at the scene, she was already outside, laying outside the side door,” NYSP Trooper and Public Information Officer Jack Keller told Carthage, New York-based CBS affiliate WWNY in the aftermath of the carnage.
“They immediately attempted to perform rescue efforts, unfortunately, she succumbed to those injuries," Keller added.
What other admissions did Anthony Dibella make?
Dibella made several more admissions during the course of a multiple-hour interrogation by state police that same day.
“I had to do what I did to her because she was getting in the way of me communicating to God,” the killer told the troopers.
He later added, "People are worshipping rocks and dirt instead of God.”
Police also received a statement from the brother of the defendant through the course of the investigation.
He told police that he spoke with Anthony Dibella on the phone just after the crime and that his brother said, “I killed her” and “I stabbed her in the head.”
The victim's obituary does not contain a photograph. It was reported that she was married at the time of her death and additionally survived by two sisters, along with “many nieces, nephews, cousins, and dear friends.”
